Don Wei
' Don Wei' (ドン・ウェイ'' Don U~ei'') is the father of Eva Wei (also known as '''Molly) '''and the deutragonist of the franchise. He is the most successful Star Racing Manager on Earth, as the President states when he asks Don Wei to participate in the Great Race of Ōban. Official Profile A workaholic, both respected and feared by his crew, Don Wei buries himself in his work to escape a tragic past. Molly's unexpected promotion to main pilot will create a tense relationship between the stern team manager and his wild new recruit... Biography Background In 2072, ten years before the events of the series, Don Wei was a much kinder and happier person. He was married to Maya, his first champion pilot, and loved their young daughter Eva very much. But when Maya was killed in a tragic racing accident, Don was so devastated that he abandoned racing, his home and even his daughter. For the next five years he drifted aimlessly until a chance encounter with Rick Thunderbolt, year 2076. Seeing the young man's talent for racing lifted Don's spirits enough for him to return to the racing world, and start a new life for himself by turning Rick into a champion pilot. However, this new Don became a strict and controlling workaholic to distance himself from the pain of his past, including Eva, the daughter he left behind. Don's relationship with Rick became strained as well. Despite their great success, the two men clashed with each other enough that Don eventually fired Rick from Wei Race in 2081. Alwas Cycle The following year, Eva, now fifteen years old, escaped from boarding school and showed up at Wei Race unexpectedly in search of her father. However, Don did not recognize who she was and ordered her to leave, only to hire her as a mechanic when she fixed a malfunctioning ship. Calling herself Molly, Eva accepted the job in the hope of getting closer to her father. Moments later, the President of the Earth Coalition summoned Don to enter the Great Race of Ōban. With only one day to get a ship and assemble a team, Don enlisted Rick as the team's pilot, then recruited Jordan C. Wilde as their gunner. Next Don got two ships from Miguel, the Whizzing Arrow 1 and 2, and two mechanics, Stan and Koji. Molly was among the Wei Race mechanics who assisted in the ships' preparations. Everything was going smoothly until a surprise attack from the Crogs. Don and his team barely managed to escape with their ships and reach the Avatar's vessel just in time. However, upon arriving on the planet Alwas, Don discovered that Molly had stowed away with them. Having no use for the girl but unable to send her back to Earth, Don had no choice but to keep her around. Things got worse when Rick was injured in the first race. Don had no other pilot to take his place and stubbornly refused to let Molly fly the ship, but orders from the President and Rick's illness forced him to do just that. Even then, Don had little faith in Molly's abilities as a pilot and disapproved of her rebellious behavior constantly. It was not until after her loss to Spirit that he attempted to make amends, but he still did not recognize her as his daughter Eva. Ōban Cycle Against all the odds, Don was able to lead the Earth Team to victory on Alwas and to the Grand Finals on Ōban. However, as if the tougher races and higher stakes weren't stressful enough, Don began to see similarities between Molly and his deceased wife Maya, both in character and flying styles. After several races, Don finally realized that Molly was in fact Eva, but did not confront her about this until later. Although they were finally able to be honest with each other, their respective wounds were not healed. Don was unwilling to let Eva continue risking her life, but she was determined to win the Ultimate Prize in the belief that it was the only way to repair their broken family. Don was unable to stop Eva from flying again, even after the truth about the Prize was revealed. Still, he let her make the choice herself and after the race was won, they were finally able to reconcile their differences and return to Earth together as father and daughter. At the end of the final episode, Don picks Eva up from her new school which is close to their home, and together they visit Maya's grave. Trivia *Don Wei is one of the characters who appears in the 2001 pilot film Molly, Star-Racer (short). His design is the same, but his personality seems to be different. Category:Main Characters Category:Characters Category:Humans